North Carolina should be put in charge of FEMA

[SoCalDem]

They had a horrific tornado (not much warning at all) and yet they have mobilized a LARGE contingency of emergency vehicles and first responders in a HURRY..They got to the affected areas, are rescuing people, and seem to know what they are doing.

It's events like this that keep pointing to the obvious..

Do we really even need FEMA, or would the same amount of money be better spent in providing the STATES with extra money for setting up their own emergency centers?

Or perhaps doing it regionally.

Each area of the country has different types of recurring disasters,that require different types of planning and responses.

FEMA seems to have morphed into yet another behemoth organization, extremely top-heavy, and unable to respond like it was supposed to.

[Richard Steele]

1. Not just NC, you know. ANYONE could do a better job running FEMA.

ANYONE who actually TRIED to provide some EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
would be better than a bunch of B*sh-lickers who care only
about no-bid contract$ and avoiding personal responsibility.

[BlacknBlue in Red NC]

2. Good point. We here in NC do seem to be able to mobilize

quickly in weather emergencies. No need for the Feds. Hmmm, sounds like a plan for the future.

[SoCalDem]

3. I can't help but think that if the FEMA budget was divided

50 ways, everyone would be in "better hands", and the states would have no excuses for not having up to date equipment and staffing:)
a win win

[MoonRiver]

14. By "no need for the Feds" do you mean you would like to reduce govt. programs,

or did you forget the :sarcasm: smilie?

Just asking. :hi:

[Trouser Trout]

4. Where was the tornado(specifically) ?I have family there. n/t

[SoCalDem]

8. Here's a link that may help you.. I don't know NC very well

looks like several counties had damage, and some people were killed.:cry:

I hope your family is ok :hug:

http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=us/0i-0&fp=455ca65014d9d4f3&ei=_btcRc_oJoeSogK1t9ixBA&url=http%3A//www1.whdh.com/news/articles/national/MI33018/&cid=1111256776

[jobycom]

5. Well, on the Gulf Coast hospitals, fire stations, and police departments

were washed away or submerged, there was no electricity for radios to communicate except in the cars that weren't washed away (until they ran out of gas and couldn't refill), and there were no cell phone towers in operation. Water supplies were ruined, food supplies were washed away... So without outside assistance, they would not have had the ability to respond.

The problem with FEMA was George W Bush. Before Bush broke it, FEMA ran very well, especially after Al Gore's overhaul of FEMA. You may remember the 2000 debates where even Bush praised Gore for the work he did on FEMA. I believe that the reason Bush broke FEMA was specifically because Gore had built it. He did that to other Gore programs as well.

[SoCalDem]

11. That's true, but when we see the vast amounts of money that's wasted,

it almost seems like a regional approach might work better.

Or perhaps FEMA could somehow be "divorced" from the whims of capricious nincompoop presidents :grr:

It did work well under Witt, but every 4 years "stuff happens" and agencies get shuffled.

Expensive and dangerous to play politics when people's lives are at stake.

[jobycom]

13. Problem is, that's exactly what Bush has been trying to do

He's been trying to show FEMA as a failure so that states will want to get rid of it and handle matters through private agencies. His failures with FEMA were a deliberate part of his ideology of privatization.

Rather than worry about the whims of administrations, let's prosecute Bush for gross dereliction over the Katrina reaction. Let's subpoena records. If we find that he was deliberately delaying the response, let's prosecute him for a few hundred counts of murder one. That would stop FEMA from being abused by future presidents.

[sandnsea]

6. FEMA is for when the states DON'T

That's how this stuff got federalized in the first place. Just like back in the Depression and states were overwhelmed with social demands. States that refuse to collect taxes and refuse to implement sensible building codes and regulations are STILL going to demand assistance in a hurricane or tornado. We have to have an agency like FEMA to help.

FEMA didn't grow too big, FEMA was cut and privatized to the point of incompetence. Cut the amount of ice delivered because people are keeping beer cold with it, the horror!! Privatize and corporatize - just like in Iraq.

FEMA worked fine when Clinton was running it. You cannot expect people who don't believe in government to create any government agency that works. That's the problem with Republicans, whether they're in Washington DC or Mississippi.

[Sequoia]

7. That's my home state!

(There you are again!)

[SoCalDem]

9. We must be "stocking" each other!

get to work, you slacker

:rofl:

[Sequoia]

12. Ah, but it's so much more fun to be here.

I hear it's about 80+ degrees down Santa Monica way. It's raining up here.

[Trouser Trout]

10. Thanks for the link

It hit in the Wilmington area, along the NC coast.Up to 10 dead; Wow, that is not good.

[BootinUp]

15. deleted

I think I should read the whole post before responding next time. :oops:

[SoCalDem]

16. Damn.. now I want to see what you deleted

:evilgrin: